Hi Petunia and Butterfly,

A quick update. Out of the two emails I have had two different reactions. One guy understood perfectly. He said, "lean on me anytime" and there was no pressure from him beyond that.

The other guy was very kind but didn't really understand my position, he still wanted to involve me in social stuff, and he saw my being ill as 'isolating myself'. This is a common reaction.

Both of these guys are good people, it is just different conceptions. The conception that wanting to be alone is bad is very common indeed.

The best understanding of the challenges of the depressed person has been right here at PC, and with some health professionals, but not all of them.

Good thoughts, M